Fatal | The Second Life I [COMPLETED]

Chapter 14: Genesis

3 Months Later

Dear Log...

Things are going good, for the most part. Winter is beginning to set in, though, and we've seen snow already. I believe it's December.

Still no sign of my friends. I won't give up on them, though. This place was my new family, but I couldn't change Evan and co out. I wouldn't be able to tell myself that they were dead.

In the time since I've arrived, the Battery Park Settlement has progressed nicely. We're now up to 62 people, and Kjrsten has established a Department of Science. Maybe there was hope after all.

As for my new family... it's been great. Us 5 in SPEC have grown an untreatable bond with each other. No matter our weapons, opinions, ideologies, anything - we've come together. And that's something I can't forget.

In particular, Tori and I have gotten pretty close. We've been through hellish times together. With the end of the world here and our lives at constant risk, we've both resorted to a "fuck it" lifestyle and started doing stuff we haven't done before. We're dating now. There's something about her that I could never get over. She was irresistible. We've gotten really close.

Catey and Adam have also gotten extremely close. They never leave each other's side anymore. Their foothold in reality is each other. Without each other, I would fear them falling into some place dark.

But SPEC seemed like it was made for us. Me and Blake were marksmen. I had my trusty glock, and Blake had a .22 Caliber Rifle. Catey was an incredible archer. Adam and his smg was the crowd control person, and Tori was the melee badass.

So... 3 gunners, 1 archer, and a crazy Mexican ninja badass.

Sounds cool, right? Anyway, I gotta go. We'll be clearing a tower soon for a settlement expansion. This building was getting crowded.

Sincerely, Ronnie.

I close my journal and set it on that familiar desk. It was Dawn, and so the newest mission would begin. I get up and grab some fingertip-less gloves and my Winter coat. New York City, due to latitude, was much colder than Tulsa. There were sunny skies, though, so yesterday's snow would be melting.

I slap on my boots and grab my gun before leaving. I made my way to the spec room, grabbing a little roll from the Breakfast. The culinary department was doing much better than I thought they would. I turn He corner and walk down to the SPEC room.

I walk inside, roll in hand, and sit down next to Tori. She was just so.. beautiful. Her amber eyes were shining in the room, the center of my focus.

     "Morning." I say, sitting down next to her.

     "Hey." She says, smiling. "You know what we're doing today?"

     "Yeah." I say. "Clearing a new building for the place."

     "Ooh." Tori says. "Sounds fun."

     "Yeah." I say, leaning back. "How'd you sleep?"

     "Good, you?" She asks.

     "Good." I say, as Kjrsten walks in.

     "God morgen!" She announces, which meant 'good morning' in Norwegian. We had all learned some of that language while we were here, as there wasn't too much else to do.

     "So. We're all here to clear a new building for our operations." She begins. "We'll hit up the Skyscraper Museum today."

     Our settlement had expanded by quite a bit since my arrival. What was once our one building had grown into all of the Battery and Wagner Park. Our settlement increased with our organization, and now we were going to do our biggest expansion yet.

     Since then we had all learned more about the Z's thanks to our Science Department and Experience. They liked to group together in lower floors of skyscrapers, and ambush anyone in the tight, narrow streets.

     We still hadn't come across any adult survivors at our camp. Many were starting to become weary of this fact, thinking that we were all that's left. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised.

     "We need to make this quick, you hear." Kjrsten says. "Short and clean. Now let's go."

     Blake, Tori, Catey, Adam, and I made our way outside and towards the museum. It was a tower, and so clearing would be significantly harder. We had prepared ourselves for it, though. We had been working like that for a long time.

     SPEC was like a family to me. All 5 of us worked together and were our own squadron. And now with Tori and I as a thing, this had gotten a lot closer. I practiced now not just to better myself, but to ensure none of us would die. I'm highly certain the others had a similar mentality.

     We then entered the building, slashing down Z's with our swords. Tori and I fought side by side, while Adam and Catey did their own thing. Blake cleated the flanks, and we moved in slowly.

     The Z's were still terrifying. They were seeming to get smarter as time went on, having to come up with new ways to get food. They weren't like traditional zombies, and that's why I think so many people died so quickly.

     They seemed to be adults with a virus rather than undead people. This virus - which we had given the ominous name "The Crimson Plauge" - was what made these people so crazy. Not only was it soul crushing to fight intelligent zombies, but it was also great because it left the possibility for a cure open.

     "First floor cleared!" I yell as my sword penetrates a Z's neck. It chokes on its own blood and I sever its head. The meat bag falls to the floor dead. He was an older one, seemingly in his 50's.

     "Just 10 more floors to go." I hear Adam say. We weren't going to clear the top 30 or so, rather we would just seal it off. Any Z's that were up there would starve and then we could just occupy it.

     We walked up the stairs again, encountering fewer Z's this time. I got that familiar feeling. Hope. Hope that one day, I can live freely with Tori, and that we could rid this world of these sickos.